I wanted to get some advice before I did any unnecessary work. The answer to my question is probably obvious to most folks. However I would appreciate your comments.

I am in the process of replacing the gasoline gauge within the instrument cluster. I have removed the steering wheel, the turn signal housing collar, and the shift lever housing (3 on the column). I have taken off all of the screws that hold the cluster against the top of the dash. I can move the cluster towards the front slightly since the speedometer is still connected as well as the other gauge wires, sending units, etc., And of course there is not enough play or space to get my hand under the dash and at the back of the cluster to unscrew the speedometer cable.

So do I need to undo the 10 - 12 screws that hold the top part of the dash down? By moving the dash out of the way is that the only way I can gain the space needed to unhook the wiring and speedometer cable from the back of the cluster?

Your disassembly has been correct so far but I'm afraid your going to have to stretch alittle and get your arm up under that dash as you still have two 5/16 nuts that are threaded onto small studs holding the lower part of cluster to dash. Remove those two and you should be able to pull the cluster out. Also you should be able to remove that speedo cable from under the dash before you pull cluster out. Most of the time the nut holding cable to speedo is finger tight. Hope this helps out.

After you remove the stering wheel/turn singal sleeve/gear shifter sleeve, you'll find two nuts on the back side of the cluster just below the speedometer. You will also (I always do) remove the lower part of the steering column that makes up the bottom of the cluster.

There's a "U" shaped bracket attached under this guard that's held onto the cluster with very small screws. Some are clutch head, but I've ran into others that were phillips head screws.

There's also two screws in the lower corners of the cluster below the gas & temp gauges (one each side).

You can pull the cluster forward to get the speedo cable off once you get all this other stuff off.

IF... you Classic is still a column shifted car you'll find a small wire that hooks from the gear selector needle in the cluster to the mast jacket part of the steering column that does need to be un-hooked.

Tom and rj have told you all you needed to know to pull the cluster. Since you have the turn signal and shifter collars off the steering column, the cluster will pull out. Also you seem to think the dash is removable but it is not. It is welded to the car. Those screws along the base of the windshield just hold down the garnish moldings.

I was trying to replace the shift indicator on my '57 and got so frustrated I just left the old one in place. I did everything suggested in this post but it wouldn't lift over the collar for the shifter. Is there a way to get to the shifter indicator , without taking all the turn signal stuff out to remove the collar? Tom

Removing the steering wheel and turn signal assembly is the best way to insure that you can remove the cluster without damaging the paint on the column, cluster or shift collar. I've done it by loosening the clamp at the bottom of the steering column on the firewall and the clamp at the bottom of the dash, but I ended up scratching paint on a previous '57 150 sedan.

Karma is the universal equalizer. The Ignore User feature comes in a close second.

You still have to remove the steering wheel to move the column up the steering shaft. Once the steering wheel is off, it's just a few screws and the shift lever pin to remove to move the collars out of the way .

You'll just be making more work for yourself by leaving the steering wheel, turn signal and shifter sleeves on.

If you find the ears that hold the turn signal sleeve onto the steering column are brkoe off like any Classics, you can do a simple repair that will hold it in place. Otherwise it will rotate out of place. Not good.

But there are (or should be) 3 phillips screw to hold down the turn signal sleeve, then the pin through the shifter lever (if your Classic still has it) and they will come right off so you can get to the cluster better.

Taking the pin out of the shifter, removing the steering wheel, etc., isn't that hard to do. I guess I'll just have to look harder for the three screws that hold the turn signals in. If I can remove them to get the shift collar to move up a little, I don't think I'll have a problem. getting to the shift indicator. Thanks for the advise.Elane 352 I didn't mean to take away from your original question, but my problem seemed to go along with yours. Hope you didn't mind my butting in....Tom

Just wanted to thank everyone for the input. I got things taken care of awhile back. I forgot to mention that here.

I did put in a new gas gauge. The funny thing is that I discovered that I may have put in the new gauge unnecessarily. After I got it in and it was not working properly, I got under the car to see if the wire connecting to the fuel sending unit cover was faulty. I discovered grease-like moisture on the connection. I undid things, wiped everything clean, sanded the connector, and bolted everything back together. The gauge then started to work properly.